


We Are Who We Are

by Shade_Penn1



Series: Ultimateverse Re-Imaginings [6]
Category: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 22:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1619408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shade_Penn1/pseuds/Shade_Penn1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being the kid of a superhero or a villain isn't all it's cracked up to be.<br/>Jesse's got issues up to <em>here</em> about abuse of power.<br/>Serenity's steadily going off the deep end.<br/>Blair has painful vision of destruction she feels to weak to stop.<br/>And Joey's lived in isolation because he's scared of his power.<br/>So what happens when they all meet? Why, they become a headache for their parents of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

In hindsight, this was probably one of the stupidest decisions she’d ever made, but even without the kid’s persistence in going with her, it was better than letting him strike out on his own. Wincing at her own descriptor, it was more than obvious that Johan was still just a child; a fact that was all too familiar given he was as old as she’d been when she was brought into HYDRA, and a fact that was just as quickly forgotten once the training began.

Whether or not by choice or by her pheromones acting up early on, Johan had followed her around when he was younger, looking so lost and clinging to just about anyone who’d give him the time of day. Though Jessica was sure that Johan only hanging around a mercenary assassin thought to be just a legend when he wasn’t with her didn’t speak well of his self-preservation. 

She couldn’t blame her pheromones on that choice of his, but perhaps because of how much time he’d spend around her, Johan’s parents had essentially dumped her with the job of being his babysitter when not on missions. 

Jessica hadn’t exactly been thrilled, as she was painfully aware of the fact even with her heavy training regimen and gaining better control of her powers, that she was just a lowly agent to them. Her costume kept her hair and face hidden, a fact no one contested too because of how Johan’s father and Jessica’s own mentor dressed in their body suits and masks, to say nothing of the standard green grunt unifoms.

She assumed it was because Johan was simply used to it that he hadn’t been frightened of her when he’d stumbled across her, a teddy bear clutched firmly in his four-year-old grip. Try as she might, Jessica was still unable to get that haunted and despairing look he had on his face out of her mind, and after that she had learned not to care when he’d come looking for her.

Though nothing had prepared her for when she’d been babysitting Johan when he was nine and the bear had been ripped open as it got snagged on one of the grunt’s belt. The anger in his eyes had terrified her as much as the grunt’s screaming when he’d gripped his head and was struck down by an invisible force did.

Jessica was under no illusions when she joined HYDRA that it was not a nice place, but she had nowhere else to go, though that day had left her shaken. As she stared down at the fourteen-year-old sleeping on of the benches on the jet she’d stolen to make their getaway, his hair just recently dyed blue to cover his blond hair, she was still so surprised to find that even with a choice now, she still could like him.

He hadn’t known that there was a power gem inside his bear, or that his own parents were perfectly fine with making him a weapon and perhaps that was why she’d given in and let him come with her. 

Jessica shook Johan’s shoulder and the boy blinked, the blanket covering him up falling off in the process as he looked around blearily. “We’ve landed, but we’re going to have to ditch the jet.” 

Johan nodded. “Alright,” he said and paused awkwardly, “and thanks for bringing me with you, Arachne.”

Jessica grimaced at the codename she’d been given. While it’d fit with the spider powers she had, now it just made her feel ashamed for ever thinking that she had a place with HYDRA. “That’s another thing, no using my codename; if you’re going to call me anything, call me Jessica.” She said and pulled her hood and mask off, letting her long hair cascade down her back. “Jessica Drew.”

Johan looked at her surprised, which bothered her more than it should have. She’d never told him her name, never told a single agent her name to distance herself from the lonely, bitter girl she’d been. 

“What do I call myself then? Even if I altered my appearance, if they think I’m Johan then they’ll come looking for me.” He said and scowled. He hadn’t been very happy with his parents either for being what he called ‘one of their science projects.’ “I doubt they’re going to let their investment get away a second time.” He added darkly, his gaze shifting to the metal box by Jessica’s feet. “Are you sure that it can’t be destroyed?”

“From the files I read, no, it can’t.” Jessica replied bluntly. “At least this box is keeping it from giving away our position or we’d be really screwed.”

Johan nodded slightly. “I’ve decided to call myself…Jesse, after a very special friend.” He said and his face flushed as he lowered his gaze. “I’m going to be Jesse Anders.”

Jessica stared at him; this kid just kept on surprising her, but what else could she expect? It wasn’t like the kid was going to name himself ‘Winter’ after the assassin; that would really give them away. “Jessica and Jesse Drew-Anders,” she recited in a calm tone, Johan’s face filling with seldom seen hope, “a sister and brother that have just moved to New York City; it does have a certain feel to it.” She added and peered at Johan’s hair once more. “I suppose I should have told you to dye your hair black instead so we’d match better.”

Johan ducked his head, his flush reddening further. “At least with my contacts we both have green eyes now; and people will already assume that black is probably my natural hair color.”

Jessica allowed small smile to slip through her grim visage, but it faded just as she turned her thoughts back to the box beside her. “Though what are we going to do about this then?” she questioned aloud. “If we keep it, then you’ll just hurt yourself by not using the power anymore-”

“Which I won’t.” Johan said adamantly.

“-and if we let it go, a pretty trinket it would be, it’ll still be too dangerous if HYDRA gets a hold of it again.” Jessica finished.

Johan furrowed his brow, but as resolution appeared in his eyes, Jessica’s own widened when she realized what he was going to say. “HYDRA is bad,” he said as his voice shook at the name, “and for most of my life I’ve lived with the knowledge that there is only one group that can oppose them.”

Jessica couldn’t fully keep the bitterness out of her voice as she finished Johan’s thought. “SHIELD, you want us to leave this in their hands? How is that any better?”

“For one thing, SHIELD won’t know about the connection I have with the gem,” Johan began, “and right now we need to go with the lesser of the evils.”

Jessica thought for quite a while about the pros and cons of this, but in the end she sighed in resignation. “The things I’ll do for you.” She muttered. 

Even when he couldn’t have her, he still got her.


	2. Chapter 2

Serenity’s smile felt like it was permanently etched onto her face with how long she’d had to keep this up and her teeth hurt from being clenched so hard. _‘There doing it again.’_ she thought as she heard the servants whispering at the side of the room while her father was out. They knew better than to say these rotten things to her face, and while they feared her father, they also knew he’d told her she needed to solve her own problems.

If her legitimacy wasn’t what they whispered about when they thought Serenity was too distracted, then it was the fact she’d recently been discovered to be a mutant. Although thinking her ability quite lame, Serenity had been taught that knowledge was power, and what better way to know things about people than to see their true feelings and know just who to lash out against?

Serenity’s ability to see emotions and relationships might not have been entirely useful at the moment, but she could see just the kind of potential the eventual escalation of it would have. So had her father, if the fact he’d restricted her from leaving the castle was anything to go by. It had not improved her mood to stay inside with people who smiled and simpered when she was around to turn right around and say harsh things behind her back.

It was enough to make her contemplate using her fork to stab at something other than the food currently on her plate.

Serenity shook her head of such violent thoughts, knowing that ‘solving her problems’ couldn’t involve attacking the hired help. The one thing that would have made things truly unbearable was if her mother was allowed to live in the castle as well; thinking of the woman almost caused Serenity’s fixed calm expression to slip. ‘ _Even thought I barely know the woman, she still makes me so angry.’_ she thought as she recalled the few times that she’d actually seen her mother.

Having no idea what her father looked like underneath his mask, she couldn’t tell what she gained from in features, but her mother had served as a compare/contrast for her. Serenity had been seven when she saw her mother for the first time, having given nary a thought to her at all, and the reveal she actually had one astonished her childish mind. The stranger had looked at her for a long moment, as if fully comprehending who it was she was seeing in front of her, but the first thing out of her mouth hadn’t been to comment on their resemblance, or any of their differences; it had been ‘Do I still get paid?’

Serenity could freely admit to being (and still being if the rumors were to be believed) a spoiled, self-centered brat when she had been younger. So yes, it had offended her seven-year-old sensibilities that this woman who was introduced as her mother hadn’t even given her more than a passing glance for the rest of her two day stay at the castle; she’d even left without saying goodbye to her.

That meeting had left her sour and embittered, and the following two visits hadn’t been any better. If her mother had at least pretended to care, then Serenity could live with the blissful ignorance of thinking both her parents cared about her. 

Spearing her pancake with more force than necessary brought Serenity out of her darkening mood. She quickly finished off her meal and silently fled the dining hall toward her bedroom, and when she was finally alone with her own thoughts, she scowled and clenched her fists, wanting desperately to hit something but not wanting to take it out on her things.

In one dark moment, Serenity wanted her power to escalate more quickly, just so she could finally strike back against all the slanderous things said against her. Once she was strong enough, Serenity could make sure not one of the Latverians spoke an ill word about her ever again.

For a moment, the world seemed to blur and Serenity rushed over to her drawer and quickly put on her glasses. She caught sight of her reflection in the side mirror in the corner, and she turned away just as quickly. The image of herself was still burned further into her mind, knowing that she only had a limited amount of time before her vision would be too bad for her to even use magic or contacts to fix her eyes-and then she wouldn’t be able to use her powers anymore.

Serenity knew the one flaw so far about her abilities was the fact she needed sight, as experienced by the fact the two thick and thin lines that connected her to her parents were both just as blurry as the world around her had been. She could never let her father discover this, so she had taken careful measures to make sure the doctor who diagnosed her had given her a few of the only options she had before Serenity had quite bluntly gotten ‘em kicked out of the country just as quickly as she brought ‘em in.

Serenity made her way over to her desk and took out a notebook, flipping through the pages to where the restoration spell was, but it couldn’t be used without building up immunity to it, hence the fact it was wearing off quicker than she hoped. She wanted to use the spell again, but right now the contacts would have to suffice, for the glasses would only cause questions-ones that did not need to be fueled by the servant’s gossiping about her.

‘ _Only this time though my father won’t let me handle it myself._ ’ she thought, the secret fear at the back of her mind even more prominent. She was the only heir, but the _for now_ was never far behind, especially if she failed to be as perfect as possible. 

There was only the briefest of knocks at the door before one of the maids walked in. “Princess, I-” she stopped short when Serenity glanced at her, the rim of her glasses visible behind her hair.

Serenity saw the woman’s aura turn a yellowish-green with confusion. The redhead scowled and wished she’d learned a memory spell as a precaution. “If you tell _anyone_ , especially my father about this, I’ll-!”

The maid’s aura turned pink at the height of Serenity’s anger and a serene expression crossed her face. “Whatever do you mean, princess? I would never betray your trust.” She said sweetly.

Serenity stared at her, anger turning to incredulity. Had she only needed to get directly angry at someone for their feelings to change? No, if it was that easy she could have made the servants desist with their whispers.

Still, this could be useful for helping her control. Serenity smiled slowly at the maid, who looked only like she was remaining rooted to the spot by the sudden devotion she felt for the redhead instead of running from that shark-like grin.

“Tell me, just how devoted are you to me now?”

“For you, I’d do anything.”

Serenity’s smile widened.

\-----

As Blair paced anxiously around her hotel room, she kept one eye on the phone, the already painful headache not letting up. While she knew _what_ she was, she’d only see her visions as a curse that had been activated at the worst moment of her life and continued to see only the bad things played out, as if the universe was mocking her. 

It wasn’t usually that she saw something that she could clearly identify and try to prevent, but when she saw her father’s technology being used for destruction, it was all she could do to practically beg him to listen to her. He’d sounded skeptical, which was nothing unusual as he had only ever thought that her saying these things were for attention. Well, until she’d told him about the giant robot anyway, then he at least gave her the barest amount of attention.

In the beginning she’d tried to ignore it as much as her father did, but the pain she’d get from her visions hurt _less_ at least when she wasn’t resisting them. Blair had thought that it didn’t amount to much as she saw only bad things and she’d would have taken the painful headaches over it until she began to see these costumed villains and heroes. 

The knock at the door caused Blair to jump and send another glance at the phone, but shrugged and opened the door slightly. It surprised her more than it should have when she saw her father standing in the doorway. She blinked, subtly pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t asleep. “What are you doing here?”

“What, not even a ‘hello’?” Stark questioned. “Come on, don’t look so shocked; can’t I just want to see you?”

Blair narrowed her eyes. “You’ve had five years to want that and you chose _now_?” she retorted. “Tell me, how close was AIM to selling your tech?”

Stark’s expression scrunched up. “Don’t get smart with me.” He said and crossed his arms. “And it was nothing that I couldn’t stop.” He replied. “Now, are you going to let me in or not?”

Blair glowered at him, but while part of her was angry with him for practically ignoring her all these years, there was still a part of her that wanted them to get along. “Alright.” She said and sat down on the edge of her bed, crossing her arms petulantly. “What do you want?” she repeated. 

Stark made a show of rolling his eyes as he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out to Blair. “Here, call it the next time you get one of you…visions.” He said as his lips twisted into a grimace. 

Blair knew that this lack of belief in her stemmed from her father’s own belief in science, and she realized a while back he had a hard time coming to terms with this. Still, she just had to remind herself of the years of being ignored and left with his assistant for any of her pity to evaporate. “Thanks.” She said dubiously, eyeing the slip of paper as though she was sure this was a joke. “I’m not making any of this stuff up.”

“Trust me, from the amount of Tylenol Pepper says you buy, I’m thinking that’s probably true.” Stark said nonchalantly.

Blair furrowed her brow, feeling her chest tighten. She immediately beat down any feelings she had at the moment; he had barely spoken to her in _five years_. “Oh really?” she asked in an even tone. “I had no idea you even remembered where I lived, let alone know what kind of medication I use.”

“Hey, my money put you here; I gotta keep track of it so you don’t get spend-thrifty.” Stark retorted.

Blair scowled at him. “ _You _put me here.” She shot back darkly and gave the paper another glance. “And you know who’d really care about my visions; _mom_.”__

__Stark’s expression tightened. “I give you everything; a nice place to stay, a weekly allowance, a good education, what more do you want from me? Are you upset just because I think you’re making these visions up?”_ _

__Blair stared back at her father, her lips pressing tightly together as she was once again harshly reminded of the fact he didn’t _get it_. She wanted to tell him what she really wanted-no, _needed_ , but knew that she wasn’t going to find it in her father._ _

__As much as she called him that, it was more out of courtesy. She was sure she could call him Tony and he would barely notice the difference, because he was just that _in_ different to her._ _

__“No, you’re right, I have everything I could possibly want right here.” Blair replied, but watching her father’s face unwind, she saw he still didn’t understand._ _

__And Blair watched her ‘what I want right here’ leave just moments after she’d spoken._ _

__\------_ _

__Joey felt like jumping out of his skin when the SHIELD agents showed up; it meant they’d either come to lock him away or something had happened to his father. Neither option promise anything good, and it wasn’t helped when he saw the second-in-command, Maria he thought her name was, walk in with a grim expression on her face._ _

__“Joseph Barton,” she began, and Joey’s breath began to pick up at the tone, “I regret to inform you that your father has-”_ _

__“No, no, no, no!” Joey said gripping his head and shook it violently. Around him he could hear the electronics in the kitchen begin to go haywire and the light above them started to flash to eye blinding intensity. “He can’t be dead, not after all the promises he made, he just can’t be!”_ _

__“He’s not dead!” Maria shouted over the din of the noise._ _

__Joey’s head snapped in her direction, and she grimaced when he locked his yellow eyes on her. “What? Then what happened? Why isn’t he here?” Even if his panic had settled down, he still saw the light above him reacting to the distress he was feeling. His expression contorted in anger. “Why did you talk like that then? You really are mean!”_ _

__Maria’s features scrunched in irritation as she rubbed her brow. “Look,” she stated bluntly, “your father has been placed in a SHIELD prison because he’s a double agent.”_ _

__Joey stared at her blankly. “That can’t be possible; he wouldn’t do something like that.”_ _

__“Well he did, he was caught red-handed.” Maria replied. “As a precaution, we will take you in for questioning; keep calm and we won’t have to place you under arrest as well.”_ _

__Joey’s eyes shifted to the other agents in the room, his breathing picking up once more. “I stay out of this,” he said, “that was the deal my dad had with your director. I’m not a part of this; he said I wouldn’t be locked up!”_ _

__One of the agents looked up at the light that continued to flicker ominously. “Agent Hill, maybe we shouldn’t rile the kid up, he looks like he’s about to blow his top.”_ _

__Maria’s expression only grew more irritated. “Mr. Barton, you’re not a child, calm yourself and come with us. The director informed us of your father’s agreement, but in light of this feels it would be for the best if you did not resist.”_ _

__Joey’s brow twitched, his heart hammering away in his chest. “I want to see my dad; I want to know he’s okay.”_ _

__“That is impossible; he has been put under quarantine until further notice.” Maria replied._ _

__Joey gripped his head, his expression contorting with frustration as the built with the panic and worry that had him feeling sick to his stomach. “Black Widow,” he said in realization, “let me see Black Widow then.”_ _

__Maria narrowed her eyes. “Questioning first.”_ _

__Joey gritted his teeth, the lights in the hall all busting up, but his desire to know what happened to his father was too strong. “Alright,” he said reluctantly, “I’ll go with you.”_ _


	3. Chapter 3

Glancing around at the room, Jessica was surprised that she and Jesse hadn’t been just thrown in a prison cell. Naturally suspicious, she knew that on the other side of the mirror she was being watched and on the other side of the wall was the room they had put Jesse into. She hoped he could last on his own and at least stuck to the story they had; whatever else they learned didn’t matter, but they couldn’t learn just who Jesse really was.

When the door opened, Jessica was surprised to see the director of SHIELD himself walk in, and was glad she kept her mask up. “Well, this is unexpected; I didn’t know former HYDRA agents were so high on your radar.”

Fury narrowed his eye. “If you’re really a former agent, you’d give us the location right now.”

Jessica crossed her arms. “Are you serious? Even if I told you, they no doubt noticed that one of their cruisers were gone and so was their gem of infinite power.”

“A power we can’t access.” Fury retorted. He leaned down on the table, eye still narrowed. “So far you’ve managed to fly under the radar, and that brother of yours doesn’t even exist; care to try another story?”

Jessica gritted her teeth; of course they would have tried to do background checks for any signs of dirt. “I was never allowed on many missions, and because of this I was able to see them for what they were. We were both in a bad place when HYDRA recruited us, and we bonded; it only seemed fitting that we left together.”

Fury still didn’t look as though he believed her fully, but he no longer seemed to find Jesse all that interesting. Which was a very good thing right now. “This gem you brought, what are the properties it’s supposed to have?”

“The power of minds mostly,” Jessica started, “though since I was just a lowly agent, I wasn’t given a more thorough explanation of what it could do. If you want to mess around with it, go right ahead. Are my brother and I allowed to go free?”

“As the only thing you haven’t seemed to have lied about was Jesse’s age, _he_ can go free,” Fury said, “you still need to go through a screening before you can even entertain the thought of being in the clear.”

“Jesse will be fine though, right?” Jessica questioned, her façade cracking just a bit. “He’s been manipulated enough.”

“Yes, he can go free.” Fury said calmly. “You though will be put in a holding cell until further notice.”

Jessica gritted her teeth again, but had to remind herself that this was for Jesse. “Alright then.”

\---------

Jesse had been asked some rather straightforward questions in his holding room, but when he found out Jessica was still going to be detained, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He leaned on his knees out in something that resembled a waiting room, which was rather odd, though since they had basically walked into one of their ground bases, perhaps it wasn’t.

He glanced absently around the place, taking in the many floors and elevators before his attention was captured by a head of yellow hair. The blond looked both younger and older than him at the same time, which fascinated Jesse greatly. “Hello.”

The blond looked over at him as he took the empty space beside him. His expression became one of surprise. “I didn’t know SHIELD recruited so young.” He said, and his eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you here to question me? I just got done with that.”

“What a coincidence, so did I.” Jesse replied breezily. “Seriously though, what did they bring you in for?”

The blond didn’t look too comfortable, so Jesse decided to give in a little. 

“I’m running away from home, my parents weren’t good people.”

“Well my dad is awesome,” the blonde said quietly, but there was a fierce conviction in his eyes, “he got captured because they think he’s a traitor.”

“And you don’t?”

“No, I know him; he wouldn’t be able to keep this from me.”

Jesse couldn’t help but pity this boy. He’d once thought that his parents were decent, they’d passed him off to other people all the time, but they had never hurt him. At least until he found out the truth anyway. “Who are you waiting for then?”

“My dad’s partner; I’m gonna try and get her to let me see him.” The blond said.

“My name’s Jesse, what’s yours?”

The blond hesitated for a moment. “Joey.” He looked around in confusion, glancing up at the lights, but he flushed when he caught Jesse’s puzzled stare. “It’s nothing, just feeling a little paranoid.”

“Believe me; I know exactly what that feels like.”

“Joey,” a new voice called out, “what did you wanna talk to me about?”

Jesse glanced up at a redheaded woman, and when Joey looked over at him nervously, he knew what that look meant. “Hey, you don’t know me, so I get it. I just can’t leave though.”

Joey nodded and led the woman off, his frame tensing all the while.

\---------

After Natasha had shown up, Joey had hoped to convince her to let him see his father, but she refused to budge. “Why not?” he tried not to whine, but the thought of being so close and yet so far had him feeling petulant.

Looking up at the flickering lights for a moment, Natasha kept her resolute expression. “This is a serious crime; you’ll come to understand that it’s for the best if you didn’t see him.”

“Can’t you tell me how he is?” Joey pleaded. “Am I going to be sent home or is Fury just going to throw me in jail?” he demanded.

For a brief moment, Natasha’s expression softened. “Fury says that since your questioning revealed no trace of deception on your part, you will have monitors in your home until later.”

Joey furrowed his brows. “You mean if my dad breaks out somehow and comes to get me.”

Natasha didn’t reply, which was all the confirmation that Joey needed.

“He’s in spy jail, I don’t think he’s going to be getting out soon.” He said bitterly. “When will I be able to see him? Since obviously that’s the only time I’m actually going to see my dad.”

“You’ll survive.” Natasha said curtly, having apparently decided she’d coddled him enough. It was a strange time frame that Joey had experienced many times since he’d met the redhead before. 

“What am I supposed to do then?” Joey questioned. “If I can’t pay our rent, I’ll get kicked out of our apartment. I know I probably won’t go into foster care, since my lack of emotional control is apparently dangerous.”

“Get a job then.” Natasha said tersely. “Stop complaining and do something. You’re right about one thing, because you have no other relatives, you can’t be placed with them or into the system because of your powers. You aren’t a child anymore, it’s time to grow up and take responsibility for yourself instead of having Clint do everything.”

Joey blinked, too stunned to even respond. When he noticed the violent way the lights overhead were dimming and brightening, he tried to calm himself down. As he did though, he realized she’d never really answered his question. “When can I see my dad?”

Natasha rubbed her brow. “Don’t you get it yet? You _can’t_.”

Joey breathed in slowly, his eyes widening as he felt his fists clench and his panic reappeared. His expression contorted in pain as the ceiling lights began sparking and other agents in the hall began to glance up in concern. Joey couldn’t care though; his whole world was his dad, his anchor, the one person who tried so hard to give him a good life when giving him up would have been easier. 

Joey could hear the chatter behind him as the sounds of the buildings power started to fluctuate in his ears, and he felt a sharp knock to his skull, his eyes turning toward Natasha incredulously before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed into her arms.

\--------

The contacts she’d been forced to wear irritated Serenity’s eyes more than she thought they would. She glanced over the maid, who in turn was gazing serenely out of the sunroof of the car. Getting to New York had been surprisingly easy, as she’d directly told her father what she’d discovered with her powers, and he’d been insistent that if she were to continue these ‘slip ups’ that they not be used on anymore Latverians for the time being. 

No, the hard part was her convincing her father that the maid she’d enthralled had to go with her. Pointing out the benefits of using her to take a hit had been countered by the ever looming presence of SHIELD and how they could capture her if she were discovered. To that, Serenity had agreed to stay within several blocks of the Latverian embassy should she be found out. That had been turned into her staying _within_ the embassy, though Serenity wasn’t complaining as now she was almost to her destination.

Jet lag took its toll, and it annoyed her she’d need to stay awake until that night. “Kate, you will address me as Ren, and if anyone asks, I’m your niece; no one but the emissaries needs to know my real identity.”

The maid nodded dutifully. “Why would someone question this?”

“We do not resemble each other, and it’s the only justification people will need.” Serenity replied and knocked on the glass separating them and the driver. “Pull over here, Kate and I will walk the rest of the way.”

The driver’s aura was a dark green of unease, but he warily nodded. “Of course, princess.”

When the car stopped by the curb of the sidewalk, both Serenity and Kate got out and went to the sidewalk while their ride drove away. “Come on, let’s get a coffee.”

“Are you sure you should be drinking that?” Kate questioned. “Coffee stunts your growth and is not good for a growing child.”

Serenity gritted her teeth. “I’m tired and irritable, so we’re getting the coffee.” She said, all formality gone with her annoyance.

Kate looked disapproving, but kept her mouth shut as they both walked down the sidewalk for a café.

Serenity rubbed her eyes, feeling more exhausted by the moment, and the bright auras of the people around her with their constantly changing moods had her feeling vaguely nauseous. The one good thing about the servants in Castle Doom was that there weren’t many she interacted with, so their emotions didn’t overwhelm her, but in a big city; she was beginning to think it was a mistake to walk.

Through the sea of color, one in particular always caught her attention. Looking at her reflection in a coffeehouse window, Serenity could see the soft white glow of her aura; she’d never figured out what this color meant, but as she was the only one so far who’d had it, clearly it meant something important. Furrowing her brow, she actually looked into the café and her eyes widened when she caught sight of another glowing white aura emanating from a girl around her own age. _‘How is this possible? I thought I was the only one who had this.’_ she thought. 

Serenity’s eyes narrowed calculatingly. “Kate, go order us two lattes, I’ve got some investigating to do.”

\------

Blair sipped on her latte, feeling infinitely calmer than she’d been cooped up in her hotel room. The sting of rejection was still there though, and the phone number felt heavy in her pocket, but her head didn’t hurt as painfully as it did beforehand. Perhaps it was because now that several hours had passed since that awkward visit her father paid her, but Blair was beginning to feel a lot better.

“Excuse me,” a new voice said from beside her, “but can I sit here? There aren’t many left and my feet are killing me.”

Glancing up, Blair saw a girl who looked a little older than her. “Go ahead.”

The girl smiled and sat down in the chair across from her. “Can you believe how big this city is? Me and my aunt almost got lost several times. It’s lucky we were able to find this place to rehydrate.”

Blair raised a brow. “This is your first time visiting?”

“Yeah, my dad thought it was a good idea for me to come here.” The girl said.

Blair blinked. “You don’t get along with your father?” she asked carefully, knowing that a stranger prying probably wouldn’t go over too well.

“Oh, we’re fine; he’s just busy all the time.” The girl replied.

For a brief moment, Blair felt jealous. Even if it was only a smidgen, she wanted more attention from her own father. The girl smiled at her, but glancing up as an older woman approached, Blair found it hard to tell who the smile was really for.

“My name’s Serenity, but you can call me Ren.” The girl said, her smile never fading. “What’s your name?”

“Blair.”

“I really like your hair, where’d you get it dyed?” Serenity questioned.

Blair pulled a midnight blue lock of hair over her shoulder. “Oh, I didn’t dye it, it’s natural.”

Serenity’s pouted. “So unfair, I wish my hair was like that.”

“Why? Your hair is a pretty color.” Blair assured her. “If anything, I should be jealous of you.”

Serenity smiled again, though there was something feral under that cutesy expression. “Blair, I think we’re gonna be great friends.”

Blair smiled back. “I think so too.”


	4. Chapter 4

“You knocked him out?”

“He was about to bring down the power grid, I had to do something.”

“He’s only a kid; you could have caused him to have a concussion for all you know.”

There was a pause. “He’s not a kid,” was the weak insistence, “if he was hurt, you would know that by now.” 

Joey groaned as he slowly woke up, his mind foggy as he struggled to remember the last little while. When it all rushed back to him, his eyes snapped open and the lights around him flared brightly in response, creating a nearly blinding light. Through the glare he could make out two figures, and he calmed down marginally as he wanted to know where he was. 

As the lights dimmed back to normal, he saw one of them was a medic, while the other was Natasha. “You knocked me out.” Joey accused blearily.

Natasha crossed her arms, expression resolved. “I had to, it was the only way to keep power.” She replied. “You never should have been questioned in the main base, do you realize just what could have happened if you lost control?”

Joey reframed from correcting her; he’d never _had_ control to begin with. “It would be bad?” he guessed.

“More than you could possibly know.” Natasha replied. She glanced away from him back to the doctor. “Since he’s awake now, I’ll let the guards know.”

Joey’s eyes widened as he sat up on the cot, his expression shaken. “Guards?” he questioned, his gaze finally taking in the different walls around him that were so different from SHIELD. “Where am I? Last time I checked, I was in the SHIELD base.”

The medic approached him cautiously. “Listen, this might be a lot to take in, but we’re gonna help you, alright?” he said soothingly. “It says in your file that you’re only fourteen, so helping you make the constructs for a stable life should make things easier.”

“I’m not supposed to be here.” Joey whispered. “That wasn’t the deal.”

The medic looked confused, and gazed at Natasha for clarification. “Fury decided to change it.” She explained. “After your little episode in the base, he thought it would be better if you remained here until you got control of yourself. Quite frankly I’m surprised he didn’t put you here sooner.”

“This isn’t the kind of words he needs to hear.” The medic said disapprovingly.

Natasha’s expression hardened before she turned away. “That doesn’t make them any less true.” She said and knocked on the door. “Guards, you can take Mr. Barton the room now.”

The medic glanced down at Joey, reaching out to pat his arm, but when Joey shied away, he let his arm fall to his side. “Someone will see you shortly about the extent of your abilities; please try to be as cooperative as you can. It’ll make everything so much easier.”

Joey glanced from Natasha, to the guards in the doorway, and back to the medic cynically. “Wouldn’t want to make things more difficult.” He muttered sarcastically.

Holding out her hand, Natasha gave him a pointed stare; Joey made a show of reaching into his pockets and pulled them inside out for a moment. 

“I can barely handle a regular phone, you think my dad would be thrilled to pay for a cell every time I lost control and fried it?” he questioned sardonically.

Natasha pulled her hand back. “Take him away.”

Joey pursed his lips as he was led from the room, the tight lid he now had on his emotions constraining with his growing irritation and anger. It was times like this he wished he really could use a cell to contact his father, but knew that it still would have gotten taken away before he could try and make a call; besides, spy jail probably had terrible cell reception.

After being taken further down the hall, Joey could hear the lumbering of the base he was in, and it struck him as odd that a building would be this creaky unless it was to the point of collapse. His attention was taken up when they reached a room, but all that was worth seeing was what looked like an elaborate, miniature, playhouse on a table.

“So this is where I’m staying?” Joey questioned and nodded to the house. “Not really a fan of playing house.”

“You don’t to play with it; this is where you’ll be living.” One of the agents corrected. “This is the Big House.”

Joey blinked, his eyes going back and forth between the agents and the house, and he snickered. “Are you serious? How am I supposed to fit in there?”

“How do you think?”

Joey furrowed his brows, and grimaced as the answer came to him.

\----------

Blair found that once they got the ball rolling, she and Serenity had a lot to talk about. She found it strange that Kate, Serenity’s aunt, wasn’t saying much, but didn’t want to offend anyone with her saying so. “I actually live around here,” she said, flushing a moment later, “though I wouldn’t it exactly call it a home.”

“I wouldn’t call the place I’m staying in a home either, but hey, it keeps my dad happy.” Serenity said shrugging.

Blair bit her lip, feeling comfortable despite the short amount of time that they’d known each other to trust her. “I feel like my dad doesn’t really want me around; he didn’t even know I existed until my mom was sent to jail.”

Serenity tilted her head. “What’s your last name?”

Blair hesitated for a moment, keeping her voice low as she spoke. “It used to be Frost, but now it’s Stark.”

Serenity’s eyes wandered to the wall, no doubt looking in the direction of Stark Industries. “As in…?”

Blair nodded. “We have a rather complicated relationship.” Her tone became bitter. “As in I want to know him, and he just keeps pushing me away.”

“I have that kind of relationship with my mother instead of my dad.” Serenity said ruefully. “I barely even see her and she just makes me so mad every time. It’s like I’m not even there when she’s around.”

“That’s gotta suck.” Blair said. “At least you _get_ to see your mom though. The only times I interacted with my mom since she got sent away is when it’s my birthday and I just get a few minutes with her over the phone.”

“When’s your birthday?”

Blair opened her mouth to answer, but she felt a splitting pain in her head overcome her. She gritted her teeth to keep the screams back; it was different if she screamed in private over this, but it was quite another to be stared at like there was something wrong with her by total strangers. 

Letting the vision wash over her, she saw nothing but flashes this time, of explosions all around, and a crashed ship/plane hybrid, with more destruction in the streets and people screaming.

Blair rubbed her temples, catching sight of Serenity’s concerned expression. “It happens; nothing to worry about.” She said, her voice slight breathless. “I really need to make a call; my dad told me to phone him if I ever get like this.”

“Well, at least he’s showing _some_ compassion towards you.” Serenity pointed out.

Blair nodded wearily. “I’m sure.” She said dryly, taking her phone out and dialing the numbers on the piece of paper.

“Hello?”

Blair felt her heart sink. ‘ _He did it again, he blindsided me just like he always does.’_ she thought. The voice was that of Pepper, and not her father’s. “Please tell me that you didn’t get a new cell phone.”

“Alright then I won’t.” Pepper replied glibly, only confirming Blair’s disappointment. “Has something happened? Are you injured?”

“No,” Blair said, and upon turning away from Serenity, she lowered her voice further, “I had another vision, but everything was all over the place, and I couldn’t get a good view of what was going on.”

“Well, I’ll tell your father to be on the look-out anyway then.” Pepper said, sounding a bit dubious, but still clearly looking to humor Blair at least.

That last bit caused Blair’s temper to rise as she was once again reminded of how everyone seemed to think she was just making it up. “I have to go.” She said and snapped her phone shut. When she looked back at Serenity, she tried to smile through the ache still in her head. “So, what do you want to talk about next?”

\---------

Joey watched the man on the other side of the electrically charged green, transparent barrier look over his file while he sat morosely on the bed at the back of the room. “So what’s the deal with that file? Does it have _all_ my information on it?”

“If you’re talking about the power disruption, then yes, it does.” The man answered calmly. “It also makes note that though you’re here for treatment; you are not to be considered a criminal.”

“Which is why there’s a barrier separating us.” Joey said sardonically.

“If it wasn’t there, your powers would likely be going haywire right now.” The man replied. 

Joey thoughtfully mulled over the information now that he had a moment to think. He was still mad that Natasha not only road blocked him about letting him visit his dad, but now he was a in a prison cell until he got his powers under control. Biting his lip, he walked up the barrier, his expression nervous and he kept his voice low. “Does that file say anything about my dad? Like where’s he being held?”

The man glanced at him, and then down at the paper with a frown. “I don’t think that would really help you.” He said. “It would just cause you to worry, and that’s not something you want more of right now.”

“Right, because everyone just wants what’s best for me.” Joey said bitterly. “If this power I had wasn’t considered a looming threat, not one person other than my dad would give a damn about me.”

“You’re a child,” the man started, and missed the way Joey’s head whipped over to look at him, “it’s only natural for you to feel this way.”

Joey stared at him for a moment, though his anger was mollified just a little bit, but he still had to be on guard. For all he knew this could be a ploy to gain his trust and turn him against his father. “Well, last time I checked, affecting all electricity around me was _not_ natural.”

“Your file says were just born that way.” The man replied. “The power you have isn’t bad; you just yet haven’t learned how to control it properly.” He seemed to notice the reluctance on Joey’s face, and his expression softened. “Look at it this way, if you didn’t care about hurting anyone, you wouldn’t care about your power getting out of hand.”

Joey felt the words hit close to home, hearing the variation every time his father tried to assure him when he failed at grasping his powers, that he wasn’t bad, just inexperienced. He turned around from the man, his arms wrapped around himself. “Please go away; I just wanna be alone right now.”

The man looked concerned, and Joey couldn’t stand it.

\----------

When Jessica was brought out into the foyer, her mask down and her hands in cuffs, Jesse shot to his feet as he approached. “Stop.” She said when she noticed the agents shifting.

Jesse gazed at her with hurt written clear across his face. “What’s going on?”

“You can go free,” she said, “but I can’t. Not yet.” She added. “It’ll be okay; hopefully it’s just for a little while. They’re only checking my story.”

Jesse couldn’t believe what he was hearing; wasn’t the point of coming here so they could be safe? Since Jessica was paying for a decision that was his own fault, he hoped she wasn’t angry with him when she got out. “Where do I go then? We never exactly planned what where we’d go after this.”

“ _You_ never did.” Jessica said, her expression wry. “I called to set us up in an apartment when you were sleeping.” She shrugged. “I figured we’d be there by now anyway.”

Jesse bit his lip, uncertain as to why she was saying all this stuff where people could listen. “I’ll have your room set up the way you like it when you get out of the slammer.”

Jessica smiled again, this one showing just a hint of warmth. “By the way, if you’re not there in the next fifteen minutes we won’t be able to stay there.” she said and Jesse’s eyes widened. “You’d better start running.”

After getting the address from Jessica, Jesse took off.

\-------------

Though realistically Joey knew that hours couldn’t have passed, it certainly felt like it. The silence was almost deafening aside from the occasional low chatter. He’d almost regretted sending the man away since he seemed like a better option than trying to strike up a conversation with the inmates. ‘ _They don’t know my dad is a SHIELD agent, just that he’s in prison.’_ he thought, hoping that no one had tried to connect the dots.

The lights shining into the building flickered, and Joey furrowed his brow for a moment. His eyes widened as he watched the green door dissolve. Tentatively he reached out, finding that there was no barrier anymore; his fear rose though as he saw the inmates walk out of their cells. He pulled back into his room and hid in the corner, sliding to his knees as his hands gripped his hair. 

Joey nearly jumped when the crashes started up, and the building shook. He could hear the sound of debris falling outside, and when a chunk of the ceiling in his room crumbled almost a foot in front of him, he knew that hiding wasn’t going to protect him from getting crushed. 

Getting back to his feet, Joey walked outside, his eyes alert for any sign to run the other way as he ran down the hall. He nearly tripped over a ledge that was filling with water and busted up pipes. The rest of the area he was in didn’t look too different, and it only made him more nervous. “Where’s the exit? There has to be an exit.” He said to himself as he heard more debris falling behind him.

Down in the pipes he could hear what sounded like fighting, and he bit his lip as it was too far away to see anything clearly. He fell to his knees and felt panic overtake him; what was he supposed to do? Everything was falling apart around him and he wasn’t far behind. He couldn’t go forward, it looked like there wasn’t any forward to go _to_.

With everybody telling him to grow up, he felt pathetic that he couldn’t even get a hold of himself. Perhaps it was his father’s fault, or maybe his own, but right now it didn’t matter; he was just cracking under pressure and he had no idea what to do next.

He noticed two miniature forms fly up in front of him, and he jerked back just as they suddenly grew to a human size, but with the way they clung to the ledge after dropping, it was clear neither of them had wanted that to happen. Joey crawled forward, his expression both panicky and apologetic. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he said as he tried to pull to the woman up first as she looked lighter than the man, “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Do _what_?” The woman in the black and yellow outfit asked, Joey having not to help her as previously unseen wings began flapping and she got onto the ledge by herself, though she did look at him suspiciously. “Why are you in the prison?”

“Questions later; help me!” The man said as the ledge began to crumble under his hands. Both Joey and the woman pulled him up onto the floor, and Joey began to back away as he started to realize he was in a prison and he didn’t know these people either. “Wait.” The man said, his metallic mask uncovering his face to reveal the one Joey had spoken to before. “It’s okay, Joey, I’m not a bad guy.”

The woman looked at the man in disbelief. “If he’s not a super villain, then what’s he doing in here?”

“Power control,” the man said grimacing, “he affects technology with some kind of electrical field.”

“So that’s why we changed back to normal.” The woman said. 

Joey stared at them both, his expression creasing in torment. “I’m so sorry.” He repeated. “I swear I didn’t mean to do that, I just don’t know what to do.”

“Listen to me Joey, you need to try and stay calm.” The man said seriously. “We’re going to get out of here, but panicking isn’t going to help anyone.”

Joey took a deep breath, his nerves still frayed, but he could at least try and keep calm. “Alright, I’ll try. I just really want to get out of here.”

The woman experimentally clenched her fists, and in a moment she was back to being miniaturized while the man’s mask covered his face again. 

“You need to stay behind us, okay? And just try and keep calm.” The man instructed.

Not having anything better to attribute to the situation, Joey nodded.

\-------

Clint didn’t know whether to think Iron Man showing up was a good thing or not, but after getting knocked off his perch, he settled for being annoyed. He’d already had enough to deal with than adding more to it; his son was likely freaking out and SHIELD probably already had him in their custody, not to mention the Natasha thing. He attempted to climb back up the perch, but found an arrow lodged into the metal just above him. When it began blinking red, his eyes widened and he dropped back down seconds before it exploded.

Clint looked over in the direction it came from, and narrowed his eyes at the figure in the dark costume with another arrow pointed at him. “How long’s it been exactly, almost six years, right?”

The blond man across the room glared right back at him, completely ignoring the rest of the fighting going on just out of their sight. “I didn’t expect you to keep track, me being in here had nothing to do with Joey after all.”

Clint scowled as he readied his own arrow. “You don’t get to bring him up, you’re _nothing_ to us.”

“Is that anyway to talk your big brother?”

Narrowing his eyes further, Clint’s frame tensed up. “And you don’t get to call _me_ that either.” He said before letting the arrow fire, with the other man doing the same.

Nearby, Stark was struggling in Crimson Dynamo’s grasp and his tech was beginning to short-circuit. Through the strain of the metal surrounding his body, which was starting to constrict his breathing, he saw someone he’d thought he would run into later when Whitney came to fight to take Blair from him. “Hey, Whit, no hard feelings right?”

Whitney narrowed her eyes through her mask, holding a large blaster in her hands and it slowly began to power up. “You may have the rest of him,” she hissed, “but _I_ get the first shot.”

“No, I’ve waited long enough for this.” The one in the blue and white coat said. “Why do _you_ get that shot?”

“Shut up.” Masque said coldly. “This is between me and him, and he’s going to pay for taking _her_ from me.” She glanced down at Stark angrily. “When you’re dead there won’t be anyone in my way.”

“Is that how you really feel?” Stark struggled to say. “I knew you were only after me for my money.”

Masque shoved the gun right onto his faceplate, her eyes conveying the disdain she felt for him. “Not even that can save you now.”

Crimson Dynamo shoved Masque aside though, his voice angry and grave. “No, if you fire first, I won’t get to watch him suffer.”

Back over with Clint, he was having a hard time keeping his anger under wraps as he knocked his bow against his brother’s head. Barney wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth and reached into his quiver to fire a brief shot at Clint, who ducked out of the way to avoid the explosion. 

“Come on, is that really the best you got?” Clint taunted. “No wonder I’m better than you.”

Barney snarled and forewent the arrow as he lunged at Clint, striking out at him with his own bow. “I hope you know where that kid is, I’d sure hate for something to happen to him.”

Clint felt his composure crack just a little bit more, and glancing over at Iron Man, he saw that he wasn’t doing much better. Feinting to one of Barney’s strikes, Clint slammed his knee up into Barney’s gut and punched him across the jaw. He quickly got back onto his perch, took aim for Dynamo’s back, and let his arrows fly.

When Iron Man escaped, Clint decided it was time to go, and after seeing that Barney had disappeared, he thought it was time to really high tail it out of there.

\--------

When Serenity noticed the smoke rising from the harbour, she opted to ignore it in favor of making the seeds of the bond she was growing with Blair stronger. It had been easier to ensnare Blair than Kate, but she wasn’t complaining. 

Kate looked up as there seemed to be a battle going on outside. “Ren, I think it would be wise to leave now. Your father would not be pleased if you got hurt.”

Serenity pursed her lips. “I’d hate to agree, but you’d be right.” She said reluctantly. “Blair, Kate and I need to leave; I suggest you take cover as well.”

Blair nodded sullenly. “I hope I can see you again.”

“You will,” Serenity assured her, “you most certainly will.”


End file.
